Scientists Are Working On New Hair Loss Treatment

Hair loss is very common condition which affects mostly men. It can really affect a person’s self image and create feelings of deep emotional distress.

Humans normally lose around 50-100 hairs every day, but some people lose more than that, which eventually leads to baldness on large areas of the scalp.

The most common hair loss condition is called alopecia. It’s a hereditary condition, which is usually passed on from the father or the mother side.
According to recent reports, in the United States, Alopecia affects more than 50 million men and 30 women.

Other causes which lead to hair loss include stress, some medical conditions, like thyroid disorders, psoriasis and anemia. Some medication can have side effects that lead to hair loss.

A team of researchers from the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute in La Jolla, California, announced that it’s almost close to developing a new hair loss treatment.
The scientists believe they have discovered a method to grow new hair by using human pluripotent stem cells.

One of the researchers involved in the study, Alexey Terskikh, a PhD professor in the Development, Aging and Regeneration Program at Sanford-Burnham, revealed how he and his team of researchers have succeeded in growing new hair by using human pluripotent stem cells.
These cells are derived from human embryos or human fetal tissue, which can become any other type of cell in the human body.

Professor Terskikh said that the new method of hair growth could prove more effective than other hair loss treatments, like hair transplant.

Terskikh and his colleagues have invented a technique that makes stem cells turn into dermal papilla cells.

The papilla cells are responsible for the formation of hair follicles and for regulating the whole hair growth cycle.

The scientists found that after they transplanted the dermal papilla cells on lab mice, new hair started to grow.

Terskikh said that unlike hair transplant, where the follicles are limited, the new method provides an unlimited source of cells that can be used for transplantation.

The researchers detailed the study on the new hair loss treatment in the journal Plos One.
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